DURHAM, N.C. – The players stood in an inflatable tunnel, waiting for their chance to run onto the field. That’s when Bo Carrington knew he couldn’t keep pretending this was just another game.

Not with all those fans waiting to welcome back the Duke lacrosse program.

“It was one of those times in athletics that you only get a couple of,” the junior said. “I was trying to talk to the younger guys and say: `Take this in. This is amazing.”‘

A season lost. Three players indicted for rape. Nearly a year of criticism for everyone associated with Duke lacrosse. On Saturday, for a few hours, it didn’t seem to matter as much. Playing their first game in 11 months, the Blue Devils beat Dartmouth 17-11 in front of a big crowd cheering their every move.

It was a triumphant return after their season was canceled last spring amid the rape allegations that touched off a debate on sports, race, class and privilege at the elite university. And it was clear this game was more than a game, from the steady stream of students who poured into Koskinen Stadium on a sunny February afternoon to the throng of reporters covering the event.

“We hadn’t been out there as a team playing like that in a while, and you almost forget what it feels like,” senior midfielder Dan Oppedisano said. “The big thing about today was we’re back on the field and having fun. And it couldn’t have been more fun. It was unbelievable.”

The crowd of 6,485 fans packed the bleachers to support a team that until last year was lost in the shadows of Mike Krzyzewski’s storied basketball team.

In many ways, the game was aimed at giving Duke’s new coach, John Danowski, and the program a fresh start. Still, there were memories of the past year’s turmoil everywhere.

Before the game, the Blue Devils wore black warm-up jerseys bearing either No. 6, 13 or 45 – the numbers of charged players David Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann.

Rape charges were dropped against the three in December. They are still charged with sexually assaulting and kidnapping a stripper, who told police she was raped by three men in a bathroom during a team party last March.

The absence of Finnerty and Seligmann – Evans has since graduated – made the return to the field a little bittersweet for Madolin Archer, mother of senior defenseman Breck Archer.

“It feels right to be back,” Archer said.

“They’ve been working toward it for so long, and the interruptions certainly have prolonged things. But it’s where they should be.”